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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26436895">because you are my first love</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelkoushi/pseuds/angelkoushi'>angelkoushi</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>why do you love me? [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Middle School, F/M, First Love, Fluff, HQSwiftWeek2020, Mutual Pining, Young Love</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 04:40:11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,125</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26436895</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelkoushi/pseuds/angelkoushi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When you’re 12 years old, everything is bigger than it seems. </p><p>Yachi Hitoka happens to be really good at hide-and-seek. Terushima Yuuji has a sacrificial tendency.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Terushima Yuuji/Yachi Hitoka</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>why do you love me? [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1921708</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>39</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Haikyuu x Taylor Swift Week 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>because you are my first love</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Prompt: Jump Then Fall (Fearless)<br/>- also inspired a little bit by Ao Haru Ride (if you know, you know)</p><p> </p><p>  <i>"Take a deep breath, then jump, then fall into me."</i></p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>***</p><p> </p><p>When you’re 12 years old, everything is bigger than it seems.</p><p>The world is a big as the middle school campus, up to maybe the neighboring cafes and malls. Everyone knew everyone, and news travels pretty fast—if you call gossip about who likes who ‘news’. School, friends, class performances—everything is a bigger deal. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.</p><p>So when you happen to be playing a game of hide-and-seek with other people that included the boy you like, of course you want to be good at it.</p><p>Hitoka crouched behind the school auditorium, curled up in the smallest ball she could get. She kept her breathing slow, only daring to peek out from behind the wall to check if someone was coming for her.</p><p>So far, so good.</p><p>The rules were simple: if you haven’t been found by the time the recess bells ring, everyone except the It wins. Hitoka thrives in this game; being small and usually inconspicuous has its merits. She doesn’t always win, but when she does, it gives her self-confidence a little boost.</p><p>
  <em>I’m good at this.</em>
</p><p>Too soon for her to register, someone rounds the corner of the auditorium and moves just beyond the stack of plastic chairs she was hiding behind. If she made so much as a squeak, she’s a goner.</p><p>The intruder quiets down, and he seems to have stopped moving. Hitoka peeks in between the spaces and catches a familiar shock of bleached blonde hair.</p><p>That wasn’t their It, and it certainly didn’t look like he was looking for anyone.</p><p>Instead, this was Terushima Yuuji, the notorious 6<sup>th</sup> grader who had a knack for getting himself into all sorts of trouble. Well, trouble as far as teachers considered it; for Hitoka, he was just one of those older boys with an uncommon sense of humor. And cute face, but you didn’t hear that from her.</p><p>She let out an exhale, but in the silence of their surroundings, it came out harsh and loud. She squeaked, but it was too late. Yuuji whips around and catches Hitoka’s eyes from between the chair stacks before she could move. When he recognized who it was, he lets out a soft chuckle that made Hitoka’s face heat up.</p><p>He has such a handsome smile.</p><p>“Crap, I thought someone had caught me.”</p><p>He looks left and right before rounding the chair stacks and coming face-to-face with Hitoka. She finds herself looking at everywhere but the boy in front of her. It doesn’t help that he was already half a head taller than she was. Boys always got the longer end of the stick when it came to puberty and height.</p><p>“Hey.”</p><p>“H-hi.” <em>Gods, Hitoka, you can at least talk with a straight face.</em></p><p>“This is a pretty neat hiding spot,” he whispered, and Hitoka could hear the smile in his voice. It made her heart thunder even harder in her chest.</p><p>“It works.”</p><p>“I think we’re the last ones standing.”</p><p>“A-are we?”</p><p>“Are you alright? You’re red.”</p><p>Hitoka’s arm reacts before she could think. She saw Yuuji’s hand flying to her face, and her own whips up and slaps it away before it could touch her.</p><p>
  <em>Oh shoot.</em>
</p><p>Yuuji takes a half step back. “I… I’m sorry, I’ll just… I’ll head back to my spot, then—”</p><p>Just as he turns around, Hitoka hears coming footsteps. Without thinking (yet again), she pulls Yuuji back by his collar and squeezes them both behind the chair stacks before Yuuji could expose himself.</p><p>For a long moment, all Hitoka could hear was the panicked beating of her heart and Yuuji’s soft pants against her forehead. His polo shirt smelled of fresh laundry and a tinge of sweat. It wasn’t as gross as she thought it would be, and anyway that was the last thing in her mind because <em>she was holding Terushima Yuuji by his shirt and he’s close enough to breath onto her hair.</em></p><p>Yuuji doesn’t seem fazed; once the footsteps recede, he peeks a bit beyond the chair stack and sees that the It was still lingering. When he whispers, Hitoka feels it on her head.</p><p>“Yacchan.”</p><p>It shouldn’t have been a big deal. Everyone she considers her friend calls her by the name; it was nothing. But Terushima Yuuji isn’t her friend, not exactly. So when <em>he</em> does it, something in Hitoka’s chest flips. She doesn’t hate the feeling.</p><p>“Yacchan,” he whispers again.</p><p>“Yeah?”</p><p>“I’ll go scope out the enemy.”</p><p>“O-okay.”</p><p>“You have to let go of me.”</p><p>Hitoka blinks, then let Yuuji’s shirt go as if it were scalding. Her grip leaves wrinkles on the white fabric.</p><p>“Right. Sorry. About your shirt.”</p><p>Yuuji takes a look at it and shrugs. “It’s bound to be wrinkled anyway. Okay, here’s what we do: I’ll run and distract him. He can’t catch me; I’ll make it to the safe base before he can tag me. When he’s gone, you go and run to the safe base too. We’ll win this together. Okay?”</p><p>Hitoka feels like she’s in a secret mission. It really shouldn’t have been that deep, but in that moment, it kind of was. It meant <em>something</em> to be trusted with a victory. A desperate feeling rose inside her, so much that she wasn’t able to give voice to it.</p><p>
  <em>You’ll sacrifice yourself for me? Why?</em>
</p><p>“Yacchan. Okay?”</p><p>The overwhelming feeling clogs Hitoka’s throat and stoppers her words; all she could do was nod when what she wanted to do was grab him by the shirt and make him stay and say “let me do it, let me save you”.</p><p>But Yuuji grins at her – a cheeky, older-boy kind of grin – and her heart flips again and she’s left speechless and frozen just as he runs off yelling “I’m over here!”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>He gets caught.</p><p>Hitoka creeps behind buildings and cars, behind trees and walls, until she was within sight of the prison circle. There were a bunch of kids already there. She was the only one missing.</p><p>Well, her, and the It, who was probably looking for her.</p><p>Yuuji was squatted closest to her hiding spot. She probably couldn’t save everyone, but she could save him. No, she <em>must</em> save him. He gave up his chance for her; she can do the same.</p><p>She creeps even closer, far enough that Yuuji saw her when she waved her arms. She placed a finger over her lips to shush him, then held out her other arm.</p><p>He gets it.</p><p>He stretches his arm and body as far as he could without leaving the circle. Hitoka looks around once more before darting toward the circle, running as fast as her legs could carry her.</p><p>The next few moments passed by in a blur.</p><p>She manages to touch Yuuji’s hand, meaning he was free to run. But he suddenly whips them around and she finds herself wrapped in his arms, him facing toward the circle where their other playmates gape at the scene. He whispers “run” in her ear and gently pushes her away.</p><p>When she looks back at him, Yuuji had their It in a vice-grip, no matter how hard the It thrashed. He sacrificed his freedom again, to let her run away. To let her win this for them.</p><p>“Yacchan, run! To the safe base! Go!”</p><p>She decides in a quick moment. She won’t let the chance go a second time. She turns and runs away toward the safe base. She makes it right as the bell rings.</p><p>They won.</p><p>Yuuji runs toward her, all bright smiles and sweat-lathered skin. But she doesn’t mind it in the slightest when he pulls her into a celebratory hug and spins her around once. He was warm and cozy, and she might or might not have nuzzled her cheek onto his shoulder. It was a blur.</p><p>What pulls her back into reality were the wolf-whistles and howls of their playmates. She feels herself heat up from her feet to her head, and she harshly pushes herself away from Yuuji’s embrace when all she wanted was to burrow in his arms forever.</p><p>The older boy didn’t seem all that bothered, which only made Hitoka even more embarrassed. It was just a <em>hug</em>, after all.</p><p>“Hey, stop that. She won this for us, she deserves a hug from all of us,” came Yuuji’s defense.</p><p>“Or you just want to hug our <em>kouhai</em>. This sleazeball.”</p><p>“I do not! Cut it out!”</p><p>The argument didn’t get any further than that as a teacher ushered them all inside the building and bid them to dry themselves before going into class. Unconsciously, Hitoka watched as Yuuji follows the other 6<sup>th</sup> graders to the upper floors, laughing and joking with each other.</p><p>How she longed to be in that circle.</p><p>How a year in between seemed like such a huge wall to climb over.</p><p>Just as he reappeared along the balcony of the second floor, he catches her eye. He smiles and gives her a small wave, and she waves back. His smile grows bigger and she thought he might have wanted to say something, but his friends called him back. Hitoka could hear their teasing.</p><p>What she did see, however, was how his face heated up when they teased him again. Right as he disappeared into their classroom.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>After class, Hitoka was about to head home when she sees the familiar mope of bleached blonde hair at the school entrance. He was leaning against the wall, hands in his pockets, whistling some obscure tune. He looked like the stuff of middle school daydreams. Well, <em>her</em> middle school daydreams.</p><p>Yuuji waves when he sees her, his smile lighting up his face. “Hey.”</p><p>Hitoka knows her own face would have served well as a stop light. “Hi.”</p><p>“Were you on your way home?”</p><p>She nods.</p><p>“Can I walk with? I think we might be going the same direction.”</p><p>“Okay.”</p><p>It was mostly a quiet walk. Yuuji kept his pace in line with hers, even when his longer legs would have walked him much faster. He asked about her classes, which teachers she found annoying, which ones she liked best.</p><p>All the while, their hands swung between them, almost brushing but not quite getting there. Hitoka is all too aware of it, all too sensitive to how close he was, how simple it would be to hold onto his hand.</p><p>And she wants to hold his hand. Why did he even want to walk with her, anyway? Maybe it’s really just because they walk the same direction home. It can’t be because he likes her too. She can hope, for sure. But that can’t be it.</p><p>
  <em>Right?</em>
</p><p>“Yacchan?”</p><p>She squeaks again. “Yeah?”</p><p>His face was dusted a marvelous pink. “When I… when I go to high school, will we still be friends? I mean, can I still hit you up and stuff?”</p><p>“Sure.”</p><p>“I mean… How do I say this…” He laughs, rubs a hand wanly along the back of his head. “Would it be cool with you if we hung out, like, not in school? Maybe at the mall? Or a park? Or anywhere you want, really.”</p><p>
  <em>Is he asking me out?</em>
</p><p>“Yes, I am.”</p><p>Her hands fly to her mouth. <em>Oh god.</em> “Did I say that aloud?”</p><p>Yuuji laughs again, then pats her head affectionately. “Yeah, you kind of did. And yes, I’m asking you out. If it’s okay with you.”</p><p>Hitoka could feel herself heating up all over again. “Does this mean—”</p><p>“That I like you? Yeah. I’ve had a crush on you for the longest time. But tell me if I’m being creepy and I’ll back off, I promise.”</p><p>The words rushed out before she could stop them. “No! I’m okay! I like you too!”</p><p>
  <em>Crap. Now you’ve done it.</em>
</p><p>Yuuji looked stunned, but the good kind. Or so Hitoka thinks. “Oh! Oh, well… That’s… wow.”</p><p>“And it’s not just because of the game or anything. I just… ugh how do I say this…”</p><p>But she never got to say it, because Yuuji suddenly swooped in and placed a kiss on her cheek, drowning away whatever coherent thought she had. When he stepped back, he was the most adorable shade of cherry red. Hitoka knew better than to point it out; she knew she looks pretty much the same.</p><p>She doesn’t think of what will happen when Yuuji moves up, if they might lose contact. If they end up attending different schools. Nothing matters more than right now, right here where time had stopped and the boy she likes admitting he likes her too. Nothing exists but the two of them, in that moment.</p><p>After all, when you’re 12 years old, everything is bigger than it seems.</p><p> </p><p>***</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey! Welcome to my first piece for HQxTSwift Week 2020! I hope you liked it, because I had a fun time writing it and it's really mostly wish-fulfillment for how little TeruYachi content is on here.</p><p>If you liked my baby, please leave a comment or a kudos!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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